1. Technical Field
This invention relates to question and answer books.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previously question and answer books (especially children""s) have relied on the answers to questions being found, for example, on different pages or written upside down on the same page. These methods can lead to errors in reading answers to specific questions and are generally a nuisance and time consuming. Answering questions in such books can be unexciting and children can easily loose interest in such books.
In the 1950""s MERIT produced a quiz called xe2x80x98Magic Robotxe2x80x99 In this quiz questions and answers are written on a single sheet of card. The operator manually selects a question using a mechanical indicator and subsequently the mechanical indicator can be used to xe2x80x98magicallyxe2x80x99 indicate the answer to that question. The xe2x80x98Magic Robotxe2x80x99 mechanism relies on the interaction of a magnet on the card with a magnet in the mechanical indicator and selective rotation between two parts of the magnetic indicator.
According to the present invention there is provided an entertainment apparatus comprising a book and a mechanical indicator; wherein the book comprises: a plurality of bound pages; a first mounting means having a reference means provided in a first predetermined relative position thereto; and a second mounting means having a first magnet provided in a second predetermined relative position thereto; and the mechanical indicator comprises: a rotatable member attached to an indicating member and which is selectively rotatable with respect to the indicating member; and a second magnet; and wherein: the reference means restricts relative rotation of the rotatable member when the mechanical indicator is mounted on the first mounting member and the indicating member is rotated with respect to the rotatable member; the first and second magnets can interact to rotate the mechanical indicator when the mechanical indicator is mounted on the second mounting means; and the rotatable member does not rotate with respect to the indicating member when the rotatable member is rotated by the first and second magnets.
Opposing pages in the book may contain a question list on one page and a corresponding answer list on the opposing page. The operator can manually select a question from a question list with the mechanical indicator and then place the mechanical indicator adjacent to a corresponding answer list. The mechanical indicator will then automatically move to a position where the answer to the previously selected question is indicated.
In this way the invention may provide a question and answer book. Questions and answers may be provided on opposing pages in the book without making the answer to the question immediately obvious. The answers to selected questions may be indicated mechanically in an interesting way. The invention has the advantage that the subject matter of the opposite sides of a page in the book may be completely self contained.